A/N: Thank you all for the reviews. More plot holes have been pointed out and fixed. For that, I am eternally grateful. Keep 'em coming and this story can only get better! :-) BentShuriken had an interesting idea that I've decided to implement into the story in the future. It both fits, and has some interesting possibilities that I haven't come across in all the fics I've read. In fact, I've only read one fic that even comes close to the plot twists I have had planned since the beginning. Even that story didn't use these twists anywhere near what mine have been.
I do have a request though. If you've come across fan fictions that have both Naruto and Hinata as Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi at the same time, please point them out. I'd like to give them a read so that I can make sure I'm not using ideas that have already been written. I've only come across one, and I can't even remember what it's called at the moment.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, though if Kishimoto-sensei is looking to get rid of it I would definitely be up for it. I have so many ideas I could do with it where he left off at the end. There's a lot of potential for the gap between Shipuuden and Boruto!
Chapter 5: Training, a Kidnapping and the Academy.
The next day, Naruto and Hinata were summoned to Hiashi's office an hour after breakfast. They were to begin training in the Hyuuga style of Jyuuken, or the Gentle Fist. As they walked into his office, Naruto noticed a scroll on Hiashi's desk that stood out from the rest. It was a scroll from the village of Kumo, the Village hidden in the Clouds. Naruto didn't know it, but it was a copy of the treaty that was being signed later today by the Hokage. Every clan head was sent a copy to look over so that they could inspect it from different angles for any signs of trickery. So far, no one could find anything other than a genuine wish for a strong alliance.
"Ah, Hinata, Naruto, welcome." Hiashi put away the documents and paperwork that were spread out in front of him on his mahogany desk. The day had barely just begun, but Hiashi looked very tired. His normally impeccable appearance was the very oposite of normal. His hair was slightly unkempt. His robes wrinkled as if he hadn't changed. His eyes had dark rings under them indicating that he had not gone to bed last night. This was because in a council meeting last night, a large argument had come up lasting many hours into the night. The solution had taken many more hours to set up. Long story short, some of the council didn't want Naruto trained in the Gentle Fist. Some of those that believed this also believed that the Blood Rite should not have been performed at all. The only thing that had saved Hiashi from hearing this argument for many more hours than he already had was the fact that Naruto had no blind spot. This was something the clan had been trying to accomplish for generations.
In the end, the lack of blindspot, the Kyuubi, and Hiashi's adoption were the only things that had saved Naruto from a terrible fate at the hands of the more outspoken members of the council. They had tried to convince Hiashi that the only way that he could learn the Hyuuga style was if the caged bird seal was placed on him. However, after many hours of argument and a lot of brainstorming, Hiashi had used the Kyuubi as an excuse not to do so, claiming that putting the seal on Naruto was unpredictable as they had no way of knowing if it was compatible with the sealing matrix used on Naruto and Hinata.
The council was not pleased, but had no way of arguing because such a thing has never been done before. Add to this that the council was then afraid that if the seals were not compatible that the fox would be released and he had the council in the palm of his hand. He then stated that he would be training the boy himself alongside Hinata with no outside interference. Any attempts to do so would result in the offending party being branded with the caged bird seal themselves. Only two people in the clan had the knowledge of how to apply the seal. Hiashi was one, and the other was an older councilman who was—for all intents and purposes—a fence sitter who would not side one way or the other until a clear victor could be decided. After Hiashi's argument, this councilman sided with him. This ended the argument for a while, but Hiashi was sure that the half of the council against him would try again.
All this went through Hiashi's mind in an instant as he watched his daughter and step-son walk in his office. "I apologize for not being at breakfast but the council meeting last night stretched on till early morning and I had too much work to catch up on." Hiashi glared at the stack of paperwork on his desk as if trying to will it into catching fire.
"What did the grumpy old men want, Hiashi-Tosan?" Naruto asked. Naruto never liked the council meetings, as they often put his father-figure in a bad mood when he had to attend them.
"They wanted to discuss your training, and it's been decided on exactly how you will be trained in our arts Naruto." Hiashi focused on him, measuring his response. Naruto stiffened at the news, knowing that if the council was involved that he was more than likely going to be trained by the branch family.
Hiashi noticed his reaction and guessed, successfully, what Naruto was thinking. In an answer to his unasked question, Hiashi said the one thing that could comfort his step-son. "It's been decided that I will be training you personally with Hinata. I know I told you already that I was going to, and I planned on teaching you weather the council agreed or not. Even if it had to be extra lessons on top of what your council appointed instructor taught you. Luckily it will not have to come to that. I was planning on starting your training today, but I am afraid that I cannot, as I have had no sleep and it is unwise to begin ones instruction with a teacher who is less than one hundred percent."
Naruto brightened immensely hearing this. He leaped up over the desk and gave Hiashi a very enthusiastic hug, scattering a bit of the paperwork in the process. Hinata giggled at Naruto's antics, and started to gather her father's scattered paperwork. Hiashi hugged Naruto back, though only briefly before clearing his throat. Naruto blushed a little in embarrassment at his outburst and walked back around the desk to help Hinata clean up his mess.
"As happy as I am that you are happy as well, I must make one thing clear. You absolutely must take the training very seriously. I know you don't go back on your word, as you've stated and proved numerous times. So promise me right now that you will take the training that I give you both as serious as if it were a life or death situation. Can you do that." Hiashi needed their training to bear great results in order to have leverage against the council next time they try something. He needs his children to excel for their own future happiness. "This goes for you as well Hinata. I need you both to promise me this."
Without hesitation, and in perfect sync, the two promised. "We promise."
Later That Night
The village was celebrating the Kumo/Konoha treaty that declared the two nations to now be in a firm, and hopefully long lasting alliance. A festival had been hastily put together. Even though it was in haste, it was just as good as any other festival the Hidden Leaf was famous for. No other Village across the elemental nations could through a festival like Konoha could.
Naruto and Hinata had been allowed to go out into the village for the festival with Ko as their guard and escort. They had visited many of the best looking shops and stands that had been set up. Naruto's personal favorite was the mask shop where he had bought a replica Anbu mask with a bit of his allowance. Hinata's favorite stand to visit was a flower and herbs stand that was run by the Yamanaka clan. While there, she had bought herself seeds of various plants to plant in her private section of the Hyuuga garden. She was already very adept at gardening, even at only six years old. It was one of her favorite things to do when she wasn't playing with Naruto or Hanabi.
Knowing they would one day be ninja, they decided to visit a Shinobi weapons stand so that they could see what cool things that would be on display. When they had finished looking at all the unique weapons on display they headed to the river to get a good spot on the bridge to watch the fireworks that would be going on shortly.
"Hinata-chan, I think I see a good spot over there near the bridge. There, on the hill leading down to the water." Naruto pointed out a spot on a slope that gradually lowered to the river below.
"That's a good spot, Naruto-kun. Ko, can we watch the fireworks from down there?" Hinata used the dreaded Puppy Eyes Jutsu that every kid seemed to learn at a young age.
Unable to resist her for long, Ko agreed. "Of course Hinata-sama, you and Naruto-sama be careful though. I will not hesitate to take you both home if you do anything to bring danger to yourselves. I will watch you from here."
"Thank you Ko-san!" Naruto exclaimed brightly. He started to run over to where the hill started, dragging Hinata with him. Once they reached the hill, he slowed to a careful walk, making sure to measure every step so as not to slip and roll down the hill. He kept a firm hold on Hinata's hand, ensuring she didn't slip. Hinata smiled at this, knowing he was very protective of both her and Hanabi. Naruto was technically the middle child of the three of them, but that didn't stop him from being a very protective big brother to both her and Hanabi at times. They all knew perfectly well that Naruto was their step-brother, but Hanabi didn't care, she was just excited to play with him any chance she could. She loved her big brother.
Hinata was different at times. Sometimes she saw him as her protective brother, sometimes she saw him as her best friend who she could feel completely safe around at all times. She was sure that he would always be her best friend, no matter what happens in the future.
They reached the bottom of the hill and sat on the grass only ten feet from the water. Closer than they probably should have gone, but the fact that Ko hadn't collected them, they assumed this distance was safe for watching the fireworks. The two children were so happy to be doing something outside the Hyuuga compound for a change, they were rarely let outside its walls. From their conversation with Hiashi a few days ago, they now knew why. Many villagers were still hateful of the Kyuubi attack six years ago. Since the fox was no longer a threat, the villagers turned their hatred towards the two Jinchuuriki.
Hinata had never experienced their hatred as she never left the compound without a guard. Naruto, however, had been sneaking out of the compound for nearly a year. No one knew he did this, not even Hinata. He noticed that the villagers would always glare at him, ignore him with a could shoulder, or curse at him and call him such horrible names. The kindest thing they had ever called him was 'Demon Brat' or 'Damn Fox'. No he knew why. But he didn't hold it against them, as he had his family to come home to every night.
With this on his mind, Hinata noticed he was lost in thought. "Naruto-kun, what are you thinking about? You have a far away look on your face."
Snapping back to reality, he noticed she looked worried. He looked around to see if anyone was around to cause her worry, not actually hearing what she had said a moment ago. No seeing anyone around he looked back at her, "Is something wrong, Hinata-chan? You look very worried."
"I was wondering what you were thinking about just now," she stated again. "Your eyes were unfocused and it seemed like you were looking for some kind of answer."
"Oh, is that all? No, nothing's wrong. I was just thinking about our past."
"What about it, Naruto-kun?" She was very curious at this point.
Not wanting to tell her about his misadventures, he said "Just how the villagers would react if we didn't have Ko-san or another guard around. They wouldn't be very kind." He technically wasn't lying, but she could tell it wasn't everything. Not wanting to push it any further she let the subject drop. She knew that if he wanted to talk about it, he would.
Deciding to ask him something else, she struck up a new conversation. "Are you excited about starting our training soon, Naruto-kun?
""Am I ever!?" He shouted. He didn't know the meaning of volume when he was truly excited. "Hiashi-Tosan is going to make us so strong. We're going to be the best Shinobi EVER!"
"Do you really think so?" She wasn't so sure. She didn't have an inferiority complex or anything like that, she just liked to see things from a more subdued side. It helped her see things more clearly. It kept Naruto out of trouble more than once. She couldn't even imagine what she would be like if she had inferiority issues. She would probably be a nervous, stuttering wreck. She didn't even want to imagine that.
"What do you mean, Hinata-chan? Of course we will be." He had a slightly more subdued tone this time. His voice was still somewhat loud with confidence, but he was now paying more attention to Hinata as she seemed worried again.
"Well, I just have this feeling that something is going to happen soon. I don't know what, but I just know something bad is about to happen. And with our upcoming training being the only thing we have planned for a while, I can't help but think it has something to do with that." When she finished she shivered to herself a bit.
"Is this like those feelings you had before we had another dream that told us more?" Naruto was concerned as well now as Hinata had developed some kind of sixth sense as to when something major was about to happen. Normally this happened before another of their shared dream gave them more scenes about that night. However, she had this feeling shortly before Hanabi was born and Hitomi passed away. She also had this feeling shortly before they were appointed a new guard a few months ago and he turned out to be one of the few branch family members who sided with the councilman that had some kind of vendetta against the two children. That guard had been reporting to a few councilman before Hiashi found out and had him reassigned to gate duty for the next ten years as punishment for his shameful actions against his children.
Needless to say, Naruto trusted Hinata's senses. He trusted them completely, just as he trusted her completely. She spoke again after a somewhat uncomfortable silence. "It is. I just can't tell exactly what this one means..."
"Well, whatever it is, we'll overcome it. Is your sense telling you when at least? Sometimes it does that."
Hinata nodded yes, "Hai, kinda. It is going to happen very soon. Either tonight or sometime tomorrow."
"Do you want me to stay up with you tonight so we can be ready for whatever it is?" Naruto knew that Hinata always felt more comfortable around him. They figured it was because he was a natural protector and that he was just good at being a brother.
"Would you, Naruto-kun?" She knew he would, even if she asked him not to, so she did the polite thing and asked him to. Tonight he would sneak into her room and they would sit on the bed talking for hours and try to figure out what was coming.
"Of course, Hinata-chan. I'd be happy to."
"Thank you very much, Naruto-kun." She absently wondered why he never called her Imōto, though she honestly didn't mind.
Just then, the fireworks started and they spent the next half hour watching them over the village. When they were done and the finally had finished, Naruto and Hinata walked back up the hill and met up with Ko to walk back to the Hyuuga clan compound.
When they arrived, Ko left them at their rooms and reported to Hiashi on the days events. Including Naruto and Hinata sitting by the riverside for the fireworks. Hiashi was quite happy about this news for some reason.
About an hour after bed time, Naruto snuck out of his room and into Hinata's where she was sitting on her bed in silence. He could see as plain as day that she was quite worried about whatever was to come. Walking up to her, he sat next to her on her bed and put one arm around her and brought her into a hug, whispering "It'll be okay Hinata-chan. Even if something does happen, we'll get through it."
"I hope so Naruto-kun. I just have a really bad feeling. It's gotten a bit clearer. Whatever is going to happen, it'll be in about an hour or two." She started getting very afraid. "It's worse than any of my other feelings. This is going to be the worst thing that has ever happened to us. But there's something else underneath it all. I can't really tell, but it feels like if we make it through whatever this is, something else is going to happen that can be either good or bad. It's like it's up to us to make it one or the other. I don't know how else to explain it..."
"Then we'll just have to make sure it's good. Whatever it is." He said this with complete confidence and without hesitation. This gave her the boost she needed as they talked about nothing and everything for the next hour and a half. Finally, when her instinct went haywire, a shadow appeared in her room. It was a man wearing a full body black Shinobi suit that covered everything but his eyes. They were grey and as cold as a gravestone in winter.
The two children hadn't seen him yet. 'It seems my information was slightly incorrect about her being alone. Oh well, I'll just take them both.' As he approached from the shadows, he performed a Genjutsu to knock them unconscious and everything went black.
Half an hour later, Just outside Konoha
Naruto was the first to wake. He was groggy and his memory was slowly going over the events of the day. He had yet to open his eyes, so he didn't know where he was or what was going on. But he could feel that his hands were tied and he was surrounded by some kind of rough fabric on most sides. However, he could feel warmth from an unknown source on his back. A sudden jolt got his attention and he opened his eyes only to find he couldn't see. There wasn't enough light. He heard the heavy breathing of someone he didn't know on the other side of the fabric.
Scared and not knowing what was happening, he muttered under his breath, "Byakugan" and his vision went black and white. He could now see everything. Hinata was the source of warmth on his back and he was in a large sac with her. A large man wearing all black was carrying them away from Konoha. That wasn't right. 'What's going on?' He tried to shift his weight to turn around and wake Hinata, but the moment he started to shift, the man turned his attention to the bag. This caused Naruto to stop. After a moment the man muttered under his breath, "There's no way they'd be waking up yet. Must've been my imagination."
That caused Hinata to start to wake. She was not so subtle about it. As soon as she was conscious she opened her eyes and saw nothing. She could feel the movement of the bag and grew scared and confused. She shivered a bit before she muttered under her breath to activate her eyes as Naruto had. She saw the same things he did and started to panic. She struggled in the bag before Naruto could try to stop her.
The man dropped the bag instantly and started to go through hand signs for a stronger genjutsu to knock them out longer. Unfortunately for him, he never got the chance as Naruto rushed the man in an attempt to get his attention. He yelled over his shoulder at Hinata, "Run! Go get help!"
Hinata froze as Naruto got close enough to the man to throw a wild punch. The man easily countered with a strong fist to Naruto's chest, causing him to fly back and land on his back coughing uncontrollably. The man held back dramatically, needing to capture them in one piece. He turned to Hinata and walked to her in a measured pace for intimidation in an attempt to make sure she froze with fear. It worked. At least on Hinata. It had the opposite effect on Naruto, causing him to recover his breath in an adrenalince rush to protect his best friend and adopted sister.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" Naruto screamed out as he rushed in for another attempt to punch the man's lights out. Again the man countered with no effort at all with a punch, this time to Naruto's head. His head whiplashed back and planted him on his back with his head hitting the ground first.
"Boy," the man finally spoke in a deep and frightening voice. "Be silent and come with me. If you try to attack me again, I will kill you where you stand."
Naruto still got up, his adrenaline still rushing through his system. He charged once again and this time the man countered with a kunai he pulled out of apparently nowhere. He lunged forward at a speed neither child could follow, making it seem as if he teleported to Naruto as he sunk the kunai into Naruto's stomach. He followed up the stab with a chop to the back of Naruto's neck, knocking him out again.
Hinata then saw red, as her anger at this man hurting Naruto. She screamed as she ran forward, "Don't touch Naruto-kun, you monster!" A sudden burst of power she had never felt before flooded through her system and sent her forward in a blinding burst of speed. She didn't know it, but she was surrounded in an orange-ish/red aura. It wasn't quite a chakra cloak, but it could definitely be felt by this unknown man. The killing intent radiating off of Hinata was great enough to make this experienced Shinobi freeze in terror as she appeared next to him faster than he could see.
After that, she couldn't remember anything. All she knew was that this man seemed to have just killed Naruto. Unknown to her, Naruto had landed in a way that the kunai had been ripped from his stomach and the half of the Kyuubi in him had already started to heal his wound, which actually wasn't lethal to begin with. His healing was accelerated by the chakra that Hinata was expelling in her Kyuubi enhanced rage.
He slowly came back into consciousness and looked around. What he saw was very confusing. He saw Hinata standing over a Shinobi clad in black who was laying on his back. He was covered in his own blood, his chest ripped to shreds. Hinata was shaking terribly, facing away from Naruto. "Naruto-kun," she sobbed in a shaky voice. "I-I'm s-s-so sorry I c-couldn't save you b-before he s-s-stabbed y-you..." She let out a loud shriek of grief as she fell to her knees and cried uncontrollably.
Finding his voice, Naruto got to his knees as he said, "What do you mean, Hinata-chan? I'm right here."
She turned around so fast it was as if she had been facing him the whole time. What he saw was a blood soaked Hinata lunge forward and hugged him so tight he thought she was going to kill him with her embrace.
"NARUTO-KUN!" she yelled in both joy and fear. "Y-you're alive! I-I thought... I thought I l-lost you!" She cried into him harder than she had ever cried before. She cried harder than the time she had fallen out of a sakura tree in the Hyuuga garden. She cried harder than any of the times her nightmares had woken her up. She even cried harder than the night she lost her mother.
Naruto could do nothing but hug her back and hope she didn't snap him in half. 'At least I can breath though' he thought. "Hinata-chan, it's okay. I'm here. Everything is okay." She slowly calmed down as her crying slowly reduced to a slow sob.
Just then, a squad of Anbu Black Ops—accompanied by Hiashi Hyuuga—appeared in the area and took in the sight as Hiashi rushed to his children. Everything else after that went by in a blur for the two children. When they look back on the night in the future, they won't be able to tell you what happened after Hiashi found them. They were in shock at the realization of what exactly just happened and have no memory of the rest of the night.
Two Years Later
Naruto and Hinata were being escorted by Ko for their first day at the academy. They were excited to finally begin their formal training to be a Shinobi of Konoha. They arrived a half hour early and were the first to arrive. Slowly, the rest of their soon-to-be classmates started arriving with their parents. It looked like some of them already knew each other as a blonde haired girl was chatting happily with a boy with a pineapple-looking hair style and a rather round boy with a bag of chips in his hand. Off to another side, I boy with a puppy on his head was talking to a boy with a high collared white jacket and sunglasses. A pink haired girl was being rather loud as she tried to get the attention of a boy who for lack of better word looked emotionless. The boys parents looked at each other, obviously trying not to laugh. Naruto and Hinata recognized many of these children's parents as the heads of very prominent clans. The Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Inuzuka, Aburame and Uchiha clan heads were all present with their children. Seeing the Hyuuga clan heiress, the Uchiha clan head, Fugaku, walked up to her, Naruto and Ko.
"Hello Hinata-san, Naruto-san. I take it you will be joining my son in the academy this year?" He said.
"Hai, Fugaku-sama." Hinata said formally.
"Oh, Sasuke is going to be with us at the academy?" Naruto asked, clearly excited at actually knowing one of his classmates besides Hinata. Over the years, the Uchiha clan head and his family had visited the Hyuuga clan quite often for 'clan business'. In truth, they were just visiting so Mikoto could watch Naruto play with Hinata and Sasuke as they all became good friends. Hiashi and Hitomi—while she had still been alive—had always welcomed Fugaku and Mikoto to their home, as they were all friends, as well as being close to Minato before his passing.
"That's right Naruto-san. He's over there, being harassed- I mean talking to a pink haired girl. Would you mind saving him from her?" Fugaku asked Naruto.
Naruto was puzzled by this, "Why does he need saved if he's just talking to her? Is she trying to hurt him or something?"
"No, nothing like that. She just has a loud voice and obsessive personality, just like her mother. You may remember her from the few times you've had to be in the village council meetings with Hiashi-san. Her mother is Mebuki Haruno."
That was all Naruto needed to hear to go save his friend from the daughter of that banshee.
Hinata giggled at Fugaku's description as well as Naruto's antics. She looked up to the Uchiha and asked, "Is she really that bad?"
"Who, the girl or her mother?" Fugaku asked absentmindedly as he watch Naruto and Sasuke talking, much to the annoyance of the pink haired girl that would be identified soon as Sakura Haruno.
"The girl." Hinata confirmed.
"Honestly, I'm not sure yet. If she takes after her mother, then yes. If not, then probably not. We'll just have to wait and see. But my son did seem uncomfortable with her trying to gain his attention. So I figured I would help without embarrassing him. If only his brother could be here. He's out on a mission today."
"Itachi-san is out on a mission? That's too bad, I was hoping to ask him to help Naruto and me with our shuriken throwing. We still need a lot of practice. Maybe Sasuke-san would like to practice with us some time?" She asked herself.
Fugaku nodded before walking up to his son and bid him farewell for now. Other parents started to follow suit and soon it was just the students of the first year class. A chuunin with a friendly face and a scar across his nose walked out of the academy doors and introduced himself as Iruka Umino. He was going to be their homeroom teacher for the next four years as he—as he put it—molded them into the fine Shinobi they could become.
When they walked into the classroom, they noticed that the seats were arranged in sets of three. With three rows of three sets. This equaled a total of twenty-one seats for the twenty-one students who walked in. Iruka then explained that for the first year, there would be no assigned seating so that eveyone could get use to one another, as they would be in a three man team with two other students in this room in four years when they graduate. The students all milled about choosing their seats for the next ten minutes.
To save his friend, Naruto sat to Sasuke's right in the center seat in the set of seats next to the window in the front row. Hinata sat to Naruto's right. This caused most of the girls in the room to glare at Naruto for taking the seat next to their 'Sasuke-kun' and denying any of them the chance. Sasuke thanked him with a silent nod. Naruto smiled back and the rest of the day went smoothly as Iruka introduced all the subjects they would be studying in their first year at the academy.
A/N: Okay, so I need a little help with this next decision. I can go many ways with the next few chapters. But I want to give the readers what you all want. My question is this: Should I stick with canon Sasuke after the massacre, or should I let Naruto and Hinata's friendship with him draw him out of the shell that he will put up. I can roll with either.
On another note, I decided to end the chapter here, as the first year at the academy will have enough to fill an entire chapter by itself. Before anyone asks, Mizuki is not coming in to the picture as a second teacher for the class until year two. Yes, he will hate Naruto. He will also hate Hinata since he is aware that she too has a part of the fox bound within her.
As always, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I greatly look forward to any reviews you deem me worthy of receiving. They truly help a lot. I'll try to respond to each question in a way that will both satisfy your curiosity and not reveal too much. I'll most likely have another chapter posted in a few days as I like to write on my nights off from work. So for at least the next few chapters, you can expect two a week. I'll let you all know if and when I decide to slow down. But as per my initial promise, the slowest I'll go is two chapters a month. (Though I hope it doesn't slow down that much. I have too much fun writing this.)
Finally, I know I haven't really written much to justify the M Rating I gave this fic. A few people have commented as much in private messages. I assure you that the scenes are coming. The first R Rated scene will probably be the fight with Mizuki. Dunno yet. A lot can change between now and then. I'll shut up now, no one likes unnecessarily long author's notes. Ha ha ha.